Lebowski wrote:Anyone have a grill they would recommend? I'm looking to buy one, but want some reviews first. I was thinking about the Weber Genesis...anyone own one?

Lebowski, I own a Weber Genesis. And love it.

Hands down, Weber makes the best grills. They cook great, clean easy, and come with a ten year warranty on all parts.

I've got this one:

IMO, there are certain things in life worth spending an extra couple bucks for. And a grill is one of them. I actually bought mine in the dead of winter right off the floor from a HH Gregg my buddy worked at. Was like a $460 grill, negotiated and got it for $199.

Get the Weber Lebowski. The new Genesis's look even nicer.

"It's like dating a woman who hates you so much she will never break up with you, even if you burn down the house every single autumn." ~ Chuck Klosterman on Browns fans relationship with the Browns

I won't knock a Weber, they are very good. However I found out from a friend that the best grills known to man are of the exclusive variety, the ones you will never see in 99% of most retails places.

A friend of mine bought some obscurely named grill in the 80's used for like $300+ back then, still uses it today and it is perfect in every way. Has special this and special that for it's important parts, all of which will not rust out etc...

I see this guy once every 2-3 years. I just remember him saying a couple of years ago to get online and search for two particular names and pay the extra $100 or so and shipping, unfortunately the names escape me. They may even be foreign for all I know, actually what isn't?

edited to add: IIRC Ducane is the one my friend had. I believe they are tied to Weber some how, either they make Weber grills or Weber bought Ducane, yada yada yada. Bottom line is they are exceptional grills and IIRC come with 10 year warranties or more.

Criminals in this town used to believe in things...honor, respect."I heard your dog is sick, so bought you this shovel"

Man, either go cheapest availble where you can swop out the parts for pennies or drop it all on 100% stainless w/ all brass where the gas goes. The Jen Airs with the infra red elements look amazing. But I can't see why you'd go for part stainless & part not. All gas / propane grills are just oven broilers flipped upside down. They are conveneince items I love. Real outdoor cooking only gets done with wood and time, nd who has time for that?

JB wrote:Man, either go cheapest availble where you can swop out the parts for pennies or drop it all on 100% stainless w/ all brass where the gas goes. The Jen Airs with the infra red elements look amazing. But I can't see why you'd go for part stainless & part not. All gas / propane grills are just oven broilers flipped upside down. They are conveneince items I love. Real outdoor cooking only gets done with wood and time, nd who has time for that?

That's the thing. Everyone loves the charcoal taste. But who's got the time to spend half an hour getting those charcoals glowing, and the half hour on the back end to clean it up?

Weber gas grill, turn on the gas, close the lid and let that sucka heat up for five minutes, oil the grates, and you've got gorgeous mid rare strip steaks with thick ass grill marks 13 minutes later with no cleanup.

"It's like dating a woman who hates you so much she will never break up with you, even if you burn down the house every single autumn." ~ Chuck Klosterman on Browns fans relationship with the Browns

That's the thing. Everyone loves the charcoal taste. But who's got the time to spend half an hour getting those charcoals glowing, and the half hour on the back end to clean it up?

Weber gas grill, turn on the gas, close the lid and let that sucka heat up for five minutes, oil the grates, and you've got gorgeous mid rare strip steaks with thick ass grill marks 13 minutes later with no cleanup.

Shame, shame....30 minutes of waiting is the equivalent of 3-6 beers depending on heat, thirst, and drunkness desire. Clean up is tedious but powered by another couple of beers it goes well. shouldn't deter you from the charcoal grill experience. I am about to invest in a small smoker/grill combo for Saturday evening grillin and sunday smokin...since it is just me and the Mrs. we get off cheap, about $35 at the Depot.

That's the thing. Everyone loves the charcoal taste. But who's got the time to spend half an hour getting those charcoals glowing, and the half hour on the back end to clean it up?

Not only that Rich, but the person might as well hook a tailpipe up to the grill to season and cook their food, b/c that is about the equivalent in terms of how healthy cooking with charcoal is.

As others have said, it's just ridiculous how long it takes. Even the end of Layla doesn't take that long.

any link to provide evidence that charcoal is worse than propane for your health?

A much higher rate of carcinogen deposit from charcoal cooking than propane, although propane is not perfectly clean and healthy. Not to be a dick but isn't it common sense by looking at the charcoal though?

PAHs and HCA's are the key dangers in grilling, especially with charcoal.

Criminals in this town used to believe in things...honor, respect."I heard your dog is sick, so bought you this shovel"

That's the thing. Everyone loves the charcoal taste. But who's got the time to spend half an hour getting those charcoals glowing, and the half hour on the back end to clean it up?

Not only that Rich, but the person might as well hook a tailpipe up to the grill to season and cook their food, b/c that is about the equivalent in terms of how healthy cooking with charcoal is.

As others have said, it's just ridiculous how long it takes. Even the end of Layla doesn't take that long.

any link to provide evidence that charcoal is worse than propane for your health?

A much higher rate of carcinogen deposit from charcoal cooking than propane, although propane is not perfectly clean and healthy. Not to be a dick but isn't it common sense by looking at the charcoal though?

PAHs and HCA's are the key dangers in grilling, especially with charcoal.

But those exist in propane grilling too. Actually from what I've recently read online, they occur in all high heat cooking of meat.

Yes charcoal has more but the evidence on whether or not it creates a signficiant increase in cancer is still highly debatable.

dropping the cancer discussion for a minute, the real answer is that you want both - gas and charcoal. It's really not an either-or. It's both. The gas grill comes first, and the Weber as shown looks great. The bottom line is most moderately priced gas grills will need a replacement burner every 2 years (not a big deal)- easy to do) but make sure that you can find the parts. I have a Charmglow going on 4 years, but it's ready for an overhaul so the Weber may be the way to go. Look for a large cooking area (I use the slab of ribs method - mine is currently 6 at one time and I would not consider something smaller) and be careful of the BTU argument - they include the side burner in the measurement and you may not really care about that. Also, I have friends with the infra-red "sear zone" and all I can say is "feh". Not worth the price IMO. My grill is about 25 feet from from my kitchen, but if you have a large backyard and want to grill far from the house, then maybe the side burner and other gadgets are they way to go. Me - give me high heat and lot's of space, and if it falls apart after 4 years so be it. That's about 400 meals, so I figure it's worth the investment.

I bought my MHP grill in '98 and I tell everyone that they're one of the best manufacturers out there for a middle of the road grill...I spent around $900 for it (the price of a good appliance) and it has been worth every penny since...that price included the rotisserie, but not a side burner and the base is stainless steel

If you like your meats seared evenly then there's not a better cooking surface out there...you get a lifetime warranty on most of the structure and parts...the burner had an 8 year warranty and I just replaced my first burner this summer...believe it or not, the ignitor still works as the first day I bought it...the grates are some of the easiest to clean up

One of THE few purchases in my life that I'm still satisfied with a decade later....